In general, a refrigerator stores foods such as meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, drinks, and the like in a fresh condition. A refrigerator includes a refrigerator main body having storage chambers such as a freezing chamber, a cooling chamber, a vegetable compartment, etc., a cooling cycle device disposed in the refrigerator main body, and a door mounted at one side of the refrigerator main body and opening/closing the storage space.
In the refrigerator, the cooling cycle device operates when the temperature of the freezing chamber or the cooling chamber is higher than a preset temperature. As the cooling cycle device operates, an evaporator generates cooling air. Then, the cooling air generated by the evaporator is circulated in the storage chambers. While the cooling air is circulated in the storage chambers, the storage chambers can be maintained at the preset temperature.
Refrigerators may be categorized into various types according to the circulation method of cooling air, location of a freezing chamber and a cooling chamber, and the structure of the evaporator.
For instance, there are refrigerator types such as a top freezer type, a side-by-side type, a bottom freezer type, and the like.
In addition, there are refrigerators for storing specific types of food, such as a Kimchi refrigerator, a wine cooler(cellar) or the like.
Recently, refrigerators have become larger in size to meet customer's desires and are equipped with various functions to enhance user's conveniences.
Typically, a plurality of shelves are disposed in the storage space of the refrigerator main body for placing food or containers holding food therein. These shelves are slidably inserted into a plurality of guides respectively provided in the inner side walls of the storage chamber. A space in which food may be placed is formed between each shelf. Hereinafter, the space between each shelf is referred to as a “unit storage space.”
Cooling air is supplied to the storage chamber through cool air ducts positioned in the inner wall of the storage chamber of the refrigerator. As the cooling air is introduced to the unit storage spaces formed between each shelf, food placed in the unit storage spaces is kept fresh.
This structure, however, may cause a loss of cooling air since when a user opens the door for opening the storage chamber of the refrigerator to remove food kept in the unit storage spaces of the refrigerator, cooling air filling each unit storage space is discharged to the outside. Besides, freshness of food placed in each of the unit storage spaces may be lost due to a temperature change in each unit storage space.
In particular, for a kimchi refrigerator, if the internal temperature of each unit storage space is greatly changed, kimchi kept in the unit storage spaces is not ripened(fermented) well, and even the taste of well-ripened kimchi is greatly diminished.